Michaela Meade
A Newport local wants the community to be aware of their impact on wildlife, after a baby cygnet was killed last weekend.
Phil Martins said he had been out for an afternoon walk at Newport Lakes Reserve on August 20 when he came across the dead cygnet.
“It’s sad because they don’t have a great survival rate anyway,” he said.
“My son happened to see… in the lagoon… one of the other babies by itself.
“I was trying to coax it out, but you know, it wasn’t going to come willingly and we didn’t want the parents to forget about it.
“My neighbour and I had to corner it in some reeds, and we carried it back to its parents.
“They were so delighted when they saw me coming with their baby… it was beautiful to reunite them.”
Mr Martins said it was “an unfortunate situation”.
“There are no dogs allowed, but there’s regular occurrences of people with dogs there,” he said.
“I don’t want to have a go at anyone, but we need to have respect for the animals.
“People should have common sense.
“The little swans have enough going against them already.”
Hobsons Bay mayor Jonathon Marsden said the news was “very distressing and sad”.
“I implore all dog owners to do the right thing and stay out of conservation areas,” Cr Marsden said.
“The conservation areas are to protect not only our native animals like the swan family but also the natural habitat and nesting areas so our wildlife can survive and thrive.
“Our conservation rangers and animal management team do their best to remind pet owners of their responsibility to abide by local laws however, they cannot be present around-the-clock.”
Council said dog owners can use the dog off-lead area adjacent to Pavey Park playground.
